Title: Occam's RazorRating: NC-17Pairings: Harry/ Draco, Harry/SeverusDisclaimer: All things Harry Potter belong to J.K.Rowling and her book and film companies.Summary: Two years after the end of the war, only desperation could make Harry seek out the help of a one-time enemy.Warnings: Sex toys, rimming, bondageAuthor's notes: For celandineb, wrapped up in a pouffy bow: bondage, voyeurism, masturbation, toys, delayed orgasm, rimming, dirty talk, frottage, desperate!sex, shower!sex, spanking (implied), UST and a plot, oh my! Hope this makes your holiday a happy one! Also, a word of gratitude to my beta reader for her sharp eyes and 'devil's advocate' par excellence skills.

A thank you to gmth, whose years of hard work (read: countless hours of matching up participants, cracking the deadline whip, arranging pinch-hitters, smoothing ruffled feathers, recipient of much-deserved praise—and, it must be noted, a few piles of virtual shit—formatting and posting, in addition to—god only knows how she does it—reading every single fic) have enriched us beyond measure. All 'O's, full marks, and an award for 'Special Services' to the fandom for you!

That was an amazing journey. So very well done, well plotted, and the relationships were built wonderfully. Gah, I've been reading for a lot of hours, and I'm sorry I haven't got much more constructive to say. But I loved this fic - thank you so much for such an incredible read! I can't believe you managed so many gorgeous words in such a short amount of time. *applauds* :)

"What could a man, such as myself, an average-looking, tall, dark-haired wizard hope for? Could a man like me, who is intelligent and converses well," he moved marginally closer on the settee, "who thrills in the discussion of ideas," his hand slipped from the back of the settee to find the hair at the nape of Harry's neck, "who loves books, and poetry, although you did not specifically require this, who is good in bed," his other hand moved from the armrest to lie on Harry's chest, worrying the top button of his shirt, "and I am a bit kinky, so be fair-warned," his eyes were directly in Harry's line of sight, smoldering, "who'd like, as you do, to never speak of war again," he popped open the button and slid his hand inside to tangle in the hair of Harry's chest, smiling almost wickedly when Harry gasped aloud, "who'd settle willingly for a simple life, a modest home, a cat-definitely a concession on my part-the pleasure of meals by the fire," he moved his body closer, so that their thighs were pressed together, "as well as reading and...sex..."

I can't really begin to find words to express my sincere gratitude for the gift of this fic - and it's not my gift. And yet, it is, because reading it has been a gift of monumental proportions.

This was so mature, so real, so intricate and solid and involving - it has joined my collection of 'keepers' for all times - because it is one of the best written, best thought-out stories I've had the pleasure to read.

There are so many aspects to it, the characterisation, the plot, the gentle, insistent pacing - the word that comes to mind is 'inevitable'. You made people out of characters, something I truly admire and find so rarely in fiction, fan or otherwise, that when I do I have to mention it.

I wont rave on pointlessly - you know what you've written and all the things you did with these characters. But please know that how you did it has affected me profoundly and with the deepest satisfaction.

*sighs* I am so glad I finally had the time to read all of this. You deserve feedback at least half as long as the story itself, but since that's beyond me, I'll summarize by saying you surprised, delighted, and aroused me at multiple turns, and made it all worth the wait and the long read. And please tell me I'm not the only one who teared up over Bat?

Amazing. I took this away with me to read over Christmas... wonderful. I lay in bed one morning in the hotel and absolutely devoured it; couldn't stop reading. I think this is going into the instant favourite category for me. What a brilliant gift :D.

This was an exceptional story, from start to finish. This has all of the best elements of "The Ghost and Mrs. Muir" - in love with a portrait, not able to touch, but to talk and dream and become in sync with one another.

The level of your writing is borne out in the poem, which was perfectly done.

To gaze at will, to touch, to drink,To taste you to the full, completeMy longing to be known by youAnd say of you, "Him I have and know."

That truly is the exquisite pain of love, and longing, distilled. It was a masterpiece. I can't wait to read it again.

I just spend the whole afternoon/evening reading this and must say that it was well worth it. Once I started I really couldn´t stop reading.

I loved every single thing in this story. The way you portrayed the characters - Harry, Draco and Snape - great, just great. Harry/Draco was great...it really worked the way your wrote it. I love how you brought Snape back to live.

It took me five days to read this! I enjoyed it, very much, and thought it consistently good in characterisation (though everyone was sea-changed), but wondered if it couldn't have been shorter! (But I do love long fics, well done like this.)

I'd been struggling to get this read before the big reveal. This completely took my breath away. Even the poetry of which I am not always a big fan. This had everything a slash lover could want: Snarry, Drarry, even a tease of Snupin! Beautifully written!

You are an amazing writer. This is a great story, well done, well paced. The detail, again, amazing. I liked your original poem also & I tend to shy away from poetry as I don't usually understand it. But you painted such a focused and tangible picture with words. Just amazing. Thanx for sharing.

I figured it was well past time for me to put my two cents in here. First off, I have to say, while I still blame blamebramptonfor my current plunge into Harry/Draco, this story, in all its hotness, opened that door. No small feat considering how much I once loathed the little shit.

That being said, I love this story. Love it! I love the Harry/Draco interaction, I love the idea of Severus being stuck in the portrait, the excellent magic, and I love that Harry and Draco parted in a friendly way, with a hopeful future for him. I know some might think that he and Harry should've ended up together, but I don't agree. (and no, not just because I favor Snarry!) I think Draco's experience with Harry opened something inside of him that he thought he might be lacking, and now he'll know what to look for. It might just be the romantic in me.

The lovely, slow build between Harry and Severus was wonderful too. And you got me to read poetry. Excellent poetry!

I've had this bookmarked since it first went up, but it took me a while to find the time and the energy to plunge into such a long fic. I'm quite glad I finally did. The plot was completely engrossing (I must say I was ridiculously slow to think of the horcrux possibility!), and I really was hooked from the very beginning when I found out that Harry was the caretaker at Hogwarts. I really enjoyed the journey you took him on, and the role that his relationships with both Draco and Snape played in that journey. The Harry/Draco was very sexy, though I liked that there was a great deal of affection there too -- that it wasn't just sex, because emotions aren't so neatly categorized. And the Snarry was so...romantic. Not in a soppy way, but in a good way. :-) Anyway, marvelous fic -- thanks!

THis is simply exquisite. One of the descriptions that blew me totally away:

As they moved in the bed, Snape was all angles, elbows and knees, fingers and hipbones with little flesh on them. His skin was rough, scarred, like leather in some places, but in others unbelievably soft, mostly hairless. He was agile but graceless, as he poked and prodded to get what he wanted, when he wanted it, how he wanted it. His mouth was a marvel of articulation, able to swallow Harry whole in one fluid movement, his tongue an instrument of dexterity that had Harry begging, on more than one occasion, for mercy and for more. Harry felt blissfully used, surrendering himself to the man's mapmaking, shivering slightly at the thought of how Snape might use all this information in the future.

Wow. I am in awe. I adored the plot, and I absolutely KNOW (in spades) that this will be one of those that I will come back to, time and again. It is both a comfort fic, and one of those that affirms faith in life, it's hard to explain how, but it is such an intense, true feeling.

I have read this one before, but I read it again, and I loved it even more. I had forgotten that amazing piece of poetry you put in there, and I read it several times, letting it roll around in my brain. It inspired me, and if you want to see what it inspired, here it is: http://thecookiemomma.deviantart.com/#/d2ri1no